Friday, December 11, 2009

This is one of the best documentaries I have seen since The Fog of War.

Well done, and well argued. A cry for sanity and regulation when it comes to the food industry and the way we consume, this film is impossible to ignore after you've seen it. It has inspired me greatly to shop at my local farmers market as regularly as possible and maybe, just maybe avoid fast-food. Though I wouldn't put money on the latter.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

I finally gave this album a well-deserved listen while actually paying attention. Surprising, since I got it about four weeks ago after watching High Fidelity. Cusak mentions the album and the band during a great scene in the film. Anyways, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Released in 1998, The Beta Band's The Three E.P.'s is a compilation of three E.P.'s (Champion Versions, The Patty Patty Sound, and Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos) that had been previously released. Creative title eh? The album plays all three E.P.s in succession, seamlessly. It doesn't sound like three albums smashed together into one at all, so don't worry. I have bascially had it on repeat for the past two days, trying to imagine why the fuck I hadn't heard this before. Maybe all of you had heard this previously, and are currently pointing at the computer screen cursing my lack of knowledge concerning lesser-known bands. Maybe not.

I honestly cannot recommend this album enough. I am not a music reviewer, so I'm not going make an attempt at explaining the 'sound' with strange terminology that when read slowly actually turns out to be non-sense. That's what Pitchfork.com is for. Listen to these two tracks and decide for yourself if you want to download/buy it. If you like Beck even in the slightest, this one should be for you.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

That something, ladies and gentleman, is Nicolas Cage. It seems to me that Mr. Cage, basically ever since 2006 has been plastered all over the place. Ironic, considering 2006 is when his most widely panned movie The Wicker Man was released. I don't know how after watching that film, anybody would hire this man.

Yeah.

Since then Cage has starred in nine films, four of which came out in 2009. Next year is no different, as he is slated to release five films in 2010. Not to mention he has another three in pre-production. Thank you IMDB. The strangest part about all of this? A very small percentage of of these films are actually any good. Let's list them off, shall we?

World Trade Center (2006) Got a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't know how.The Wicker Man (2006) Possibly the lowest score I have ever seen on RT. For more evidence, refer to video above.Ghost Rider (2007) (Just click on the movie title to view it's score, I've gotten lazy)Grindhouse (2007) We can omit this one. Tiny role.Next (2007)National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)Bangkok Dangerous(2008) I just watched this a few days ago. It could be said it inspired me to write this post. It could also be said that it's one of the least action-packed action movies ever made.Knowing(2009)G-Force (2009)Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans(2009) Haven't seen this one, and it seems to be getting decent reviews. I guess one out of ten isn't so bad?

Notice how almost all of these movies don't make it past the 40% mark? Another thing, how can he even be in all of these movies in a year? Maybe there's an army of Nicolas Cage's somewhere underground, all with varying haircuts to differentiate between the characters.

Seriously though, what's with the hair?

Here's a taste of what's coming in 2010:

Looks like a real winner.

So what to make of all of this? Does Nicolas Cage have some horrible hidden addiction that he has to pay for? Or could his addiction be starring in shitty movies*? I guess we'll never know.

*Anything made before 2004 is omitted from this statement.

Here are my favorite Cage movies:

The Rock (1996)Con-Air (1997)Face/Off (1997)

These three films might actually be the greatest action movies ever made.